Returned
by RisingWillow08
Summary: Mal comes back to the Bargain Castle to find her mother waiting. How will Maleficent react to her daughter being gone over a week? Sequel to Sprained. Even though there's nothing 'bad' in it, probably should not be read to small children, thus the rating. Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants.


Mal slunk into the front door of Bargain Castle, holding the trinkets she had grabbed from the hideout close to her. They were a precaution, in case she ended up having to have an excuse for disappearing for eight days.

"And where have you been for the past week?" Mal jumped slightly when she heard her mother's voice. She sighed, straightening.

"I was out stealing for a bit. I came in late at night and left in the morning, so you probably didn't see me, but I came home every night," Mal answered confidently. The lie was relatively weak, but it should be enough to fool her mother while keeping the truth that she had sprained her ankle safely hidden.

"Oh? Then why is it I haven't seen any new items in your room?" Maleficent asked, clearly not buying it yet. But Mal had planned for her to ask that.

"I've been hiding them around the island so that I could bring them back all at once and not wake you up in the middle of the night carrying them back. But I knew you'd still be awake at this time so I figured it was fine to take them back," Mal replied. "Plus, this way I can show you all of them at once."

The purple-haired girl set down the trinkets she'd been holding, grabbing more from every pocket she'd been able to stuff them into. Their hideout had a lot of valuables gathered over the course of a few months. Mal had grabbed the necklace and watch that she and Evie had stolen and had ended up spraining her ankle, along with a few other things, ranging from valuable to mediocre.

Maleficent looked over the items disdainfully. She then turned her glare to her daughter, leaving a feeling of dread in Mal's stomach.

"All of this is useless!" Maleficent boomed. "What use do I have for any of this trash off the streets?" Mal gulped. "Well, I just thought—"

"_You_!" Maleficent sneered. "_You_ are the most useless henchman I have _ever had_!" The words stung, even though Mal was used to hearing them. She always had a false hope when she did something that it would impress her mother, but if anything, Mal was getting farther away from that goal with everything she tried.

"You will never earn your true name, _Maleficent_! You will forever be simply Mal if you keep this up!" Maleficent continued. Her rants could last for hours sometimes, and Mal was already getting bored.

"I'm aware mother, but that's a bit of an unfair assessment—" Mal tried, getting cut off again.

"We are _villains_, Mal! Everything is unfair! You should be finding things evil to do on this island other than graffiti some walls and steal some worthless junk from random people!"

"But _mother_," Mal said loudly. "What happened to 'make the innocent people suffer'?" But Maleficent had a counter for that, too. "Stealing a few trinkets is not making them suffer, it's simply making them annoyed! If you want to be a true villain and earn your name, you have to make them _suffer_!"

Mal sighed. "Yes, mother." And she quickly walked to her room. She didn't want to hear any more of her mother's rant.

She hopped onto her bed, face-down, and groaned. She was doing all she could to be evil, but it was all useless. Her mother would never accept her, Mal knew that. She could steal Fairy Godmother's wand and she probably wouldn't get more than a sneer from Maleficent.

"Hey, you alright?" Mal heard a voice, making her jump. She looked up at her window to see the face of Jay.

"Sure, I'm fine. Just my mother being… My mother," Mal answered. Jay nodded, ducking into her room. "Wanna talk about it?"

Mal shook her head. "Not really. Just the usual." At that Jay looked thoughtful. "Well, you always have me, Carlos, and Evie to talk to. If you ever need to," he told her. Mal smirked. "Did big, mean Jay go soft? Get out of here before my mom hears you," she answered, shoving him towards the window. But even as he left, she could tell he had meant what he said. And even though she would never admit it, she appreciated it.

Maybe everything wouldn't be too bad.


End file.
